Multipurpose panty girdle type undergarment



March 31, 1970 F. PORCO 3,503,405

MULTIPURPOSE PANTY GIRDLE TYPE UNDERGARMENT Filed April 26, 1968 #vvavraz, F R n N k Po'Rc o United States Patent 3,503,405 MULTIPURPOSE PANTY GIRDLE TYPE UNDERGARMENT Frank Porco, Bronx, N.Y., assignor to Biflex Foundations, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 26, 1968, Ser. No. 724,341 Int. Cl. A41c 1/00 US. Cl. 128-519 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A multipurpose panty girdle type undergarment which can be used for a number of purposes. The garment incorporates a body encirling main element with tongue means projecting from the lower portion thereof, which tongue means can be releasably joined to form the crotch portion of a panty girdle and/or releasably separated to permit the garment to be rotated so that the tongue means overlie the users side thighs. Additional securing means are provided that permit stockings and/or garters to be releasably attached to the garment.

This invention relates to womens undergarments, and more particularly to garments of the panty girdle type and accessories which can be used therewith. However, a basic aspect of the invention concerns a panty girdle type undergarment which is convertible for use either as a panty girdle or as a thigh-control garter belt and which can selectively be used to directly support auxiliary components including long stockings and/or garters.

With the advent of short skirts a need arose for undergarments of the panty-girdle type, to perform the functions of the older, bulky foundation garments, while remaining relatively inconspicuous. Panty girdles satisfied this need to a great extent until short skirts gradually gave way to mini-skirts which then evolved into micro-skirts. With each succeeding step in the length reduction of womens skirts, an increasing need was felt for a matching undergarment. Along with miniand micro-skirts, came textured stockings which provide a certain measure of protection as well as a pleasing aesthetic effect. It soon became apparent that some means of preventing these textured stockings from downward vertical movement must be provided, which means would perform its function without being exposed either through, or beneath, the relatively scant outer garment. These requirements precluded the use of conventional garters for maintaining the position of the stockings. The now-conventional panty hose, comprising a relatively bulky panty girdle and a pair of textured stockings, possess several severe drawbacks. The stockings rely on the use of a stretch material to provide the necessary restraint from vertical movement. Additionally, there is no physical connection between the panties and the hose, the latter being completely unrelated to the former.

Another problem which soon became obvious to the wears of these skirts, as well as similarly short dresses, resided in the fact that it was necessary to own a wardrobe of different types of undergarments, each suitable only to the particular outer garment with which is would be worn. Thus, a woman who owned both regular length and minior micro-skirts found it desirable, if not essential, to own a variety of undergarments such as panty girdles, girdles, garter belts, and the like, each of which served a specific function. It is clear, then, that there is a need for an undergarment, along with associated auxiliary components, which can be used with multiple types of dress to eliminate the need for a separate type of undergarment for each one and the primary object of this invention is to satisfy this need.

More specifically, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a panty girdle type undergarment which can be used for a multiplicity of purposes so as to allow the owner thereof to accommodate different styles without needing a plurality of similar undergarments. Consistent with this object, it is a further significant object hereof, to provide an undergarment incorporating a body encircling main element with tongue means projecting from the lower portion thereof, which tongue means can be releasably joined to form the crotch portion of a panty girdle, and/or releasably separated to permit the garment to be rotated so that the tongue means overlie the users side thighs, and wherein the undergarment further includes additional securing means that permit stockings and/ or garters to be releasably attached thereto.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide an undergarment which, when worn in a first position as a panty girdle, is adapted to accommodate long stockings which extend up to, and join, the same, or to accommodate conventional stockings which do not extend up to the undergarment.

These and other objects, advantages and salient features of this invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, which taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a panty girdle in accordance with a preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the panty girdle of FIG- URE 1 in use on a wearer;

FIGURE 3 is a front view of the panty girdle of FIG- URE 1 in use on a wearer and in combination with a textured stocking;

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view, partly broken away, of a textured stocking adapted for use in combination with a panty girdle in accordance with this invention;

FIGURE 5 is a front view of the panty girdle of FIG- URE 1 adaped for use as a thigh-control garter belt;

FIGURE 6 is a front view of the garter belt of FIG- URE 4 in use on a wearer;

FIGURE 7 is a front view of a garter adapted to allow a panty girdle, in accordance with this invention, to be worn with conventional hose, and

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the preferred fastening means with portions of the garments broken away.

Generally, the garment of this invention comprises a sleeve-like main body member which conforms to the contour of the wearers lower torso, having an upper waist-encircling edge, and a lower edge, with the lower edge including depending tongue means which can be releasably joined so as to form a pair of spaced apart opposed leg openings separated by a crotch portion. The garment may be formed of one piece of continuously woven material, of one piece of material cut and joined at one seam or, in the preferred embodiment, of two panels joined as by sewing to form two seams located at the sides when the garment is worn as a panty girdle. When the garment is worn in a first position as a panty girdle the two panel members will comprise front and rear panel members respectively. The lower edge of each panel member has a depending tongue member such that, when they are joined, they form the crotch of the garment. The respective depending tongue members are releasably joined by suitable fastening means so that when the fastening means are released the garment may be rotated to a second position thereby symmetrically causing the respective depending portions to extend downwardly along the wearers thighs. When worn in this manner, the garment becomes a thigh-control garter belt. Obviously, the garment may be made of any suitable material with a stretch material being preferred. A still more preferred material of construction is one having elastic characteristics which can be stretched in multiple directions and may have a design or may be plain. The preferred releasable fastening means used to join the depending portions in order to form the crotch are snap fasteners comprising two halves, respectively a female half and a male half. A plurality of spaced apart releasable fastening means are provided along the lower edge, thereby providing points for attaching the upper portions of stockings around the leg openings, or for attaching garters when worn with conventional hose.

The textured stockings to be worn with the panty girdle are of a conventional stretch weave. However, in contradistinction to the conventional stretch hose, the decorative textured weave may extend the full length of the stocking instead of just to the point where the skirt covers the stocking. Additionally, where conventional stretch hose do not extend up to the panty girdle and rely on their own stretch characteristics to prevent sliding down, the stockings of this invention extend up to the panty girdle and include cooperating fastening means around their upper edge to attach to the fastening means around the leg openings of the panty girdle. Further, the inside upper edges of the hose have a reinforcing band, preferably soft elastic, to which the fastening means are attached.

Turning now to the drawings, the garment is generally designated by the numeral 10. The panty girdle in FIGURE 1 is preferably constructed of a front panel 12 and a rear panel 14 joined by suitable means to form the side seams 16. Front panel 12 tapers arcuately downwardly and inwardly to form a depending tongue member 18 and rear panel 14 similarly tapers arcuately downwardly and inwardly to form depending tongue member 20. Depending tongue members 18 and 20 are releasably joined by any suitable cooperating fastening means, such as snap fasteners, generally designated 22. When depending tongue members 18 and 20 are so joined, they form the crotch, generally designated 24, separating leg openings 26 and 28. In the preferred embodiment snap fasteners 22 comprise two halves, a male half 30 and a female half 32 (FIGURE 8). Clearly, it is immaterial which of the cooperating snap fastener halves appears on which depending portion, but in this preferred embodiment depending portion 20 of rear panel 14 contains the female snap fastener half 32 facing outwardly and depending portion 18 of front panel 12 has the male snap fastener half 30 facing inwardly to cooperate with female snap fastener half 32. A plurality of spaced apart female snap fastener halves 32 are secured to the lower edge of the garment, thereby lying around the periphery of the leg openings 26 and 28. As can be seen from FIGURE 3, these snap fastener halves 32 cooperate with the male snap fastener halves 30 on garters 42 (FIGURE 7) or on stockings 34 to thereby prevent the stockings from slipping downwardly. Thus, the stockings 34 extend upawrdly to the panty girdle completely covering the wearers legs and thighs. The female snap fastener halves 32 are secured by conventional retaining ring means 36. Additionally, a soft elastic band 38 is secured along the inside of the lower edge for the purpose of reinforcing the leg openings and crotch and insuring a snug fit. Additionally, the band 38 supports the snap fasteners and provides durability. A soft elastic waist band 40 is secured to the inside of the waist encircling edge of the garment 10. The elastic bands are, therefore, hidden and do not detract from the appearance. A preferred method of construction, but by no means limiting, is to stitch a first edge of the elastic band to the edge of the garment in a slightly overlapping manner, and then fold the garment edge under so that the first edge of the elastic band is aligned with the fold, thereby forming the finished edge 41, 43 of the garment. The free second edge of the elastic band, lying along the edge, is thereafter stitched to the garment. The stitching used throughout is of a type which provides structural strength as well as a pleasing appearance, for instance zig-zag stitching alone or in combination with other types.

In order to utilize the garment 10 as a panty girdle in combination with ordinary hose, garters 42 (FIGURE 7) are attached by means of snap fasteners. Garter 42 is provided with a male snap fastener half 30 (not shown) which cooperates with female snap fastener halves 32 on the garment. Male snap fastener halves 30 are secured to both the stockings 34 and the garters 42 by conventional retainers 44 as shown in FIGURES 4, 7 and 8. Stocking 34 is of a conventional weave for its complete length, ending in a selvage 46 at its upper peripheral edge. A band of soft elastic 47 is then stitched on to the upper edge portion to reinforce the edge as well as to provide a strong support for the snap fastener halves 30 with their respective retainers 44.

When snap fasteners 22 in crotch 24 of garment 10 are opened, and the garment is rotated through to a second position, a thigh-control garter belt as in FIGURES 5 and 6 results. In this embodiment the garter belt is essentially symmetrical and comprises two panels 48 and 50 which correspond to panels 12 and 14. The panels have been renumbered 48 and 50 in FIGURES 5 and 6 since it does not matter in which direction the garment is rotated and, therefore, front panel 12 and rear panel 14 do not necessarily assume a particular position with regard to the wearers left and right sides. Accordingly, one of the seams 16 will be centered vertically on the Wearers pelvic region and the other seam 16 will be centered on the hollow of the wearers back thereby providing a symmetrical garment. Dependent portions 18 and 20, renumbered 52 and 54 to designate the fact that the garment may be turned in either direction are then centered along the side of the wearers thighs. Garters 42 are releasably attached by means of snap fasteners 22. composed of male half 30 and female half 32.

It is, accordingly, clear that the foregoing objects of this invention have been satisfied. While this invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment it is apparent that other modifications and embodiments may be made thereof without departing from the spirit or scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A garment which can be worn in a plurality of positions, comprising a sleeve-like main body member which conforms to the contour of the wearers lower torso when worn in a first and a second position, said garment having an upper waist-encircling edge and a lower edge, said lower edge including depending tongue means which can be releasably joined to form a crotch portion separating a pair of spaced apart leg openings when worn in said first position; and a plurality of operably disposed fastening means attached to said garment in spaced apart relationship around the lower portion thereof; said garment being adaptable to be worn in said second position when said tongue means are releasably separated and said garment is rotated to said second position such that said tongue means extend over the side thighs of the wearer, at least some of said fastening means being adapted to cooperate both directly with stockings and with garter type stocking supports.

2. A garment as defined in claim 1, wherein said sleevelike member comprises a first panel member and a second panel member secured together along their opposite side edges.

3. A garment as defined in claim 1 wherein said garment is constructed of a material having elastic characteristics which can be stretched in multiple directions.

4. A garment as defined in claim 1 wherein said releasable fastening means comprise snap fasteners.

5. A garment as defined in claim 1 further comprising an elastic waistband secured to said upper waist-encircling edge, an elastic band extending substantially continuously around said lower edge, and at least some of said releasable fastening means being attached around said lower edge.

6. A garment as defined in claim 1 further comprising textured stockings releasably secured thereto by means of cooperating snap fasteners located in spaced apart relationship on said lower edge of said garment and on the upper edge of said stockings.

7. A garment as defined in claim 1 further comprising a plurality of garters secured thereto by means of snap fasteners located in spaced apart relationship around said lower edge.

8. A garment as defined in claim 1 wherein said tongue means comprises a first depending portion and a second depending portion and wherein said lower edge tapers downwardly and inwardly from the sides of said main body member to said depending portions, thereby defining said leg openings.

9. A panty girdle garment adaptable to be worn as a thigh-control garter belt constructed of a material having elastic characteristics which can be stretched in multiple directions, comprising a front panel member and a rear panel member secured together along their respective opposite side edges to form side seams, said garment having an upper waist-encircling edge and a lower edge; said garment tapering downwardly and inwardly along said lower edge from the sides thereof to form a depending front tongue member and a depending rear tongue member respectively, such that when said front and rear tongue members are secured together by snap fastener means they form a crotch and define leg openings; an elastic waistband secured to said upper waist-encircling edge and extending substantially continuously about the garment; an elastic band extending substantially continuously around said lower edge thereby encircling said leg openings and reinforcing said crotch; and a plurality of snap fastener means in spaced apart relationship along said lower edge for securing stockings to said garment; said garment being adaptable to be worn as a thigh-control garter belt when said snap fastener means securing said front and rear tongue members are opened and said garment is rotated to a second position such that said front and rear tongue members then extend over the side thighs of the wearer and said side seams are arranged centrally over the wearers pelvic region and the hollow of the wearers back.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,638,900 5/1953 Gruenberg et a1 128-526 3,249,110 5/1966 Bryan 128-519 3,419,756 12/1968 Leventhal 12s s19 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,197,211 6/1959 France.

ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

